


Different and proud

by FlaredelilahEuphony



Category: Vi lumina
Genre: First Meeting, Gen, Pre-Canon, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-07
Updated: 2018-02-07
Packaged: 2019-03-14 22:34:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13599834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlaredelilahEuphony/pseuds/FlaredelilahEuphony
Summary: Reek is different, most say he's a monster. He tries not be, but he knows that a monster is all most people see when they see a half orc. He hides from society, a hood over his head. Until one day he meets an odd girl, one with blue skin and horns. She wears no hood, she hides nothing.





	Different and proud

Most nights, Reek doesn’t dream. He fall into unconsciousness and the world finally fades. It’s better that way, he thinks, not to have be bothered in his sleep. But sometimes the memories resurfaced, and he shivered in his sleep, remembering the snow that used to be his bed roll. Living on the spine of the world had been difficult, and he had been no stranger to burying himself in snow to stave off the freezing winds. 

The biting winds of the north had been nothing compared to the treatment he had received upon traveling south. He had heard tales from other travelers about how his kind were scorned in the south. He had thought that the stories were only that. Stories. Oh how young and stupid he must have been. 

It changed in every town he went to. Most just started and whispered horrible things behind his back. Some stores and inns would refuse to let him enter, and that was the extent of it. In on or two places, no one had seemed to mind his green skin and sharp teeth. The people in those towns were either different like he was, or they loved someone who was different. The worst places, the ones that threw stones and burned people like him, were always the ones where everyone was the same.

Sometimes Reek wished he was the same as everyone else, that half of his blood wasn’t monstrous. It still hurt, even after so many years of enduring it. There were few people like him in the world, and they were scattered far and wide. Most hid their faces and other odd features, as he had tried in the past, making hard to find many of them. Some didn’t seem to care if the world saw them for what they were.

Reek had been sitting in the tavern of the Grapevine inn when he first saw her. He had placed a cloak over his head and broad shoulders, hiding himself from the rest of the room. He had finished his third ail an hour ago, but it didn’t affect him very much. It wasn’t late yet, but the half orc was exhausted from dodging the stares of people in the streets, and from traveling all day. He had been just about to turn in for the night, when the girl came in in.

She wore a bright red dress and cloak, a black corset hugged her body and high heeled boots pressed her feet into a point. She sauntered proudly into the tavern, drawing all the eyes in the crowded room to her, and she didn’t seem to care. Her dark blue skin showing proudly, along with a pair of curled horns and a spaded tail. Her silver eyes roamed the tavern, passing over many and lingering on few. She stepped past Reek, winking at him as she did. He blushed a deep green as he lowered his head into his cloak. 

She pulled a silver fiddle out of her satchel, and asked the bartender something, He smiled and nodded, and she gave him a kiss on the cheek, seemingly in thanks. The girl stepped up onto the stage taking the magic amplifier and spoke into into it in a smooth voice. 

 

“Good evening ladies, gentlemen, and others.” she said, smiling out into the crowd. No one seemed to be bothered by the girl’s clearly demonic appearance as they clapped and cheered her on. “My name is Flare, and I’d like to sing for you beautiful people tonight.” She said as she picked up her bow. “And I love requests so just keep em coming,” She smiled, beginning to drag the bow across the strings of the fiddle. 

The music was beautiful. The demon girl played until the sun was rising and gold light was streaming through the windows. No one had left the tavern after she had started playing and singing, too entranced by the notes and melodies. Many people had asked for requests, but Reek hadn’t been able to build up the courage to ask for his favorite ballad, the one about the singing cat. 

When the morning came and the demon girl took her final bow and stepped off the stage, the full room of people clapping as they exited the tavern. The demon girl picked up the bag of gold pieces that had been left for her during the night. She slipped them into her satchel and flipped the morning clerk a gold coin, the man eyes going wide at the amount he had just been given. He handed her a brown bottle of firewhiskey. 

Reek pulled his hood low and got ready to leave for the day, despite being tired for listening all night. He looked longingly at the bottles behind the bar, and down at his small coin pouch. Nobody paid much for his services as a mercenary, no one paid half orcs much for anything. 

“Well, you look simply depressed darling,” the voice he had been listening to all night spoke. He looked up, seeing the blue girl smile and sit in a chair across from him. She put the bottle on the table and made two glasses appear next to it. “You could use a drink or two, if you’ll let me of course.” she smiled as he nodded slowly and poured them both a tall glass of the liquer.  
“Your voice is nice,” Reek mumbled, keeping his head down so she wouldn’t see his ugly green face. “I’m sorry I didn’t tip you.” he said, surprised when she laughed and placed her elegant hand over his gloved one. 

“I don’t play for the gold darling, besides-” She said, leaning forwards onto the table. “I’m far more interested in knowledge, specifically what’s under that hood of yours.” her smile and her words were sweet, and she was beguiling in an intelligent way. Reek had never been with a woman on the road, and he was unused to being the object of anyone’s attentions. 

“I do not think you would want to see,” Reek’s hands clenched on the table. “I am very different from normal people.” he mumbled and lifted his gaze to he could look into the bright eyes before him. 

“I’m hardly average myself, darling. I know that you’re special.” The girl said gently, reaching her long fingers up to the edge of the hood. She didn’t touch the fabric, waiting for permission. Reek’s heart pounded, and his head told him that this was a bad idea. His heart however… his big stupid heart made him nod his head. The girl smiled and pulled back the hood.  
Reek had been expecting her to recoil like most people did when they saw his mottled green skin and tusks. The girl grinned broader and ran a hand down his cheek. He flinched at the unfamiliar contact, but calmed quickly. He liked it. Her hand was warm and her smile was kind, a rare thing for him. 

The girl pulled his hood back over his head, and pressed a finger to her lips, promising her silence. She stood and turned to leave, before second guessing herself and turning back. 

“I’m so sorry darling, I don't believe I got your name.” She said.

“I call myself Reek.” he said quietly.

“That’s a lovely name. I call myself Flare.” Flare curtsied, turning to walk out of the tavern, humming a tune as she went. “I hope to come across you again soon, Reek.” She called.

It was then that Reek noticed that she had left her bottle of whisky on the table, along with a piece of parchment. He called after her, but she was long gone. He placed the bottle carefully in his bag, never one to waste. He picked up the parchment and saw the ink on the back. 

Never be ashamed of yourself darling. Different doesn't mean evil. 

The elegant letters swooped across the page, and Reek had to read it a few times before the words sunk in. It was truly incredible how much power that girl wielded with just her words. He did hope that he could see her again someday. She would be hard to miss in a crowd.


End file.
